Hot Topics:

Boston Marathon bombings: Dogs that provided comfort in Sandy Hook on the job

By Sarah Favot, The Lowell Sun

Updated:
04/18/2013 12:31:24 PM EDT

Harvard Dangerfield, a Samoyed, participates Wednesday in a Boston Commons meetup arranged on Reddit.com to provide comfort to those rattled by the bombings at the Boston Marathon on Monday. (Sarah Favot)

BOSTON — Dogs with slobbery tongues and wagging tails brought smiles and laughter to Wednesday following an attack that hit one of the city's proudest traditions just days before.

Five comfort dogs from Lutheran Church Charities arrived in Boston on Tuesday night to bring comfort to victims, first responders and anyone else who would benefit from cuddling with the golden retrievers.

The dogs were visiting victims at area hospitals Wednesday afternoon, including a woman at Tufts Medical Center suffering from serious injuries who was having surgery that afternoon on her leg.

Tim Hetzner, president of Lutheran Church Charities, said people who visited the dogs Wednesday morning at the First Lutheran Church on Berkeley Street, miles from the marathon finish line, had said they could hear the bombings from their homes in the area.

Some young children who heard the noise are having nightmares, Hetzner said.

"There's been a lot of neighborhood people, a lot of people walk to work and are coming off from the street,' said Deana Mastropietro, a volunteer with LCC. "We had a girl who sat down and started crying and said I needed to get this out, and this made me feel better.'

Hetzner called the dogs, "big, furry counselors,' and said they'd stay in Boston for as long as they're needed.

"When people pet a dog they actually relax, and when they relax they're more susceptible to be able to share what their emotions are and what feelings they've gone through,' said Hetzner. "Part of that sharing what their feelings and what they're thinking is part of the healing process. The dogs help you do that because they don't talk back.'

Amber Hathaway said that was why she organized a "Free Dog Cuddles' session Wednesday afternoon on the Boston Common.

Hathaway, of Brighton, Mass., said she wanted to do something to help those who were affected by the bombings in any way.

"I was thinking about how to help and what made me feel better,' said Hathaway, which led her to her dogs.

She posted on Reddit.com about the free dog cuddles and several other pet owners joined, bringing their dogs with them. The dogs, including two black pugs and a fluffy white-furred Samoyed, basked in the attention from passers-by and those who saw the post on Reddit.

About 20 people who were looking for some comfort stopped by.

"It's just been a really awful week aside from the tragedy,' said Joa Stenning, who was on a lunch break from the Boston Lyric Opera.

"And dogs make it better,' said Julie-Anne Whitney, her co-worker.

Mady Scolick, a student at Simmons College, said she lives, works and goes to school on Boylston Street, where the explosives erupted.

"It's been a really long couple of days. It was very emotional and this is what I needed,' she said, as Hathaway's pug snuggled up against her leg.